Maps
Skindle’s
Right Bank
1833: William Skindle bought the Orkney Arms, and being a man of
imagination renamed it - "Skindle’s"
1873: Advertisement -
1873 Advertisement Skindle’s
1881: George Leslie -
Notoriety has rather spoiled the pleasant
Orkney Arms Hotel. Everything about the
hotel is as good as ever, but during the summer season it is rather overdone by
pleasure parties from London,
whose gaiety, show, and fashionable slang, clash unpleasantly with the gentle
dignity of the river.
Bridge House, opposite Skindles, looks pretty
on account of its red bricks and the fine trees around, but the shore on the
Berks side further up has had an hotel and some villas
lately built, which utterly destroys its beauty. Much cannot be said either for the other
side, where a gasworks has it all its own way.
1883: Skindle's, Henry Taunt -
Skindle's, Henry Taunt, 1883
© Oxfordshire County Council Photographic Archive; HT3665
1886: Skindle’s In October, by J. Ashby-Sterry -
OCTOBER is the time of year;
For no regattas interfere,
The river then is fairly clear
Of steaming “spindles”
You then have space to moor your punt,
You then can get a room in front
Of Skindle’s.
When Taplow Woods are russet-red,
When half the poplar-leaves are shed,
When silence reigns at Maidenhead,
And autumn dwindles
‘Tis good to lounge upon that lawn,
Though beauties of last June are gone
From Skindle’s.
We toiled in June all down to Bray,
And yarns we spun for Mab and May;
O, who would think such girls as they
Would turn out swindles?
But now we toil and spin for jack,
And in the evening we get back
To Skindle’s.
And after dinner – passing praise –
‘Tis sweet to meditate and laze,
To watch the ruddy logs ablaze;
And as one kindles
The post-prandial cigar,
My friend, be thankful that we are
At Skindle’s.
1889: Jerome K Jerome -
Maidenhead itself is too snobby to be
pleasant. It is the haunt of the river
swell and his overdressed female companion.
It is the town of showy hotels, patronised chiefly by dudes and ballet
girls. It is the witch's kitchen from
which go forth those demons of the river - steam-launches.
The LONDON JOURNAL duke always has his "little place" at Maidenhead; and the
heroine of the three-volume novel always dines there when she goes out on the
spree with somebody else's husband.
We went through Maidenhead quickly ...
1894: Montagu Williams Q.C. Up West-The London Season -
… The river, also, is not what it was. I am now
fifty-seven years of age, and at the present moment I am casting my mind back
to the time when I was fifteen [1852].
In those days there were scarcely any boats to
be seen between Boveney Lock and Maidenhead Bridge, and none at all
further up, between Maidenhead and Cookham. There were, moreover, no filthy
house-boats and no steam launches to wash away the banks of the river, and
place the angler’s life, or rather soul, in jeopardy —for the number is unknown
of the oaths he utters, day by day, at being unloosened and washed away from
his moorings. Those unable to afford a boat could fish from the bank with a
fair prospect of good sport; and their more prosperous comrades could row down
to Water Oakley and Bray, and catch their thirty or forty dozen gudgeon a day.
What has the river become now? The banks are
stuccoed, and there is no chub fishing, no barbel fishing, and scarcely any
gudgeon fishing to be had. The whole thing has been completely ruined.
Look at Boulter’s Lock on a Sunday afternoon;
turn your eyes towards the lovely woods of Cliveden, formerly the property of
Lord Orkney, and now owned by the Duke of Westminster;
think of Skindle’s, the
“Orkney Arms,” kept then by the original proprietor himself;
and lastly, look
across the river at the new hotel, where some skirt-dancer is indulging her
admirers in a corner with a suddenly inspired rehearsal of “Ta-ra-ra-Boom-de-ay.”
And then
a word as to the occupants of the punts, with their Japanese umbrellas as
screens, who moor their craft in the nooks of Cliveden Reach on a Sunday
afternoon. I am not a particular man, but I cannot help taking exception to the
behaviour of these people.
[ Umbrellas are an essential part of a punt's equipment. A good golfing umbrella
is next best thing to a cabin for a punt passenger!
And next time we pass a fisherman we
will all certainly call to mind that memorable phrase of Montagu Williams:
"the number is unknown of the oaths he utters"
However we can tell him that 110 years later:
There are no filthy house-boats;
the steam launches are now things of beauty (though we have
invented for ourselves plastic boats with square sterns and noisy
over-powered outboards);
the language of fishermen is their own business;
that Cliveden has, at a
few times in the last century, been again a place of scandal, but is now
at least as respectable as most places;
and that the dear old Thames is still a place
of great beauty and spiritual recreation.
So “Ta-ra-ra-Boom-de-ay” to you! ]
1925: Skindle’s, Francis Frith -
1925: Skindle’s, Francis Frith
The Secret Places of the Heart, H G Wells – Maidenhead -
The day was full of sunshine and the river had
a Maytime animation. Pink geraniums, vivid green lawns, gay awnings, bright
glass, white paint and shining metal set the tone of Maidenhead life. … After
lunch and coffee he rowed the doctor up the river towards Cliveden. …
"I know my Maidenhead fairly well,"
said Sir Richmond. "Aquatic activities, such as rowing, punting, messing
about with a boat-hook, tying up, buzzing about in motor launches, fouling
other people's boats, are merely the stage business of the drama. The ruling
interests of this place are love - largely illicit - and persistent drinking
... Don't you think the bridge charming from here?"
"I shouldn't have thought - drinking,"
said Dr. Martineau, after he had done justice to the bridge over his shoulder.
"Yes, the place has a floating population
of quiet industrious soakers. The incurable river man and the river girl end at
that." … This place has beauty and charm; these piled-up woods behind
which my Lords Astor and Desborough keep their state, this shining mirror of
the water, brown and green and sky blue, this fringe of reeds and scented
rushes and forget-me-not and lilies, and these perpetually posing white swans:
they make a picture. A little artificial it is true; one feels the presence of
a Conservancy Board, planting the rushes and industriously nicking the swans;
but none the less delightful. And this setting has appealed to a number of
people as an invitation, as, in a way, a promise. They come here, responsive to
that promise of beauty and happiness. They conceive of themselves here, rowing
swiftly and gracefully, punting beautifully, brandishing boat-hooks with ease
and charm. They look to meet, under pleasant or romantic circumstances, other
possessors and worshippers of grace and beauty here. There will be glowing
evenings, warm moonlight, distant voices singing. ...
There is your desire, doctor, the desire you say is the driving force of life.
But reality mocks it. Boats bump and lead to coarse ungracious quarrels; rowing
can be curiously fatiguing; punting involves dreadful indignities. The romance
here tarnishes very quickly. Romantic encounters fail to occur; in our
impatience we resort to - accosting. Chilly mists arise from the water and the magic
of distant singing is provided, even excessively, by boatloads of cads - with
collecting dishes. When the weather keeps warm there presently arises
an extraordinary multitude of gnats, and when it does
not there is a need for stimulants. That is why the dreamers who come here
first for a light delicious brush with love, come down at last to the
Thamesside barmaid with her array of spirits and cordials as the quintessence
of all desire." …
"The real force of life, the rage of life,
isn't here," he said. "It's down underneath, sulking and smouldering.
Every now and then it strains and cracks the surface.
This stretch of the Thames, this pleasure stretch, has in fact a curiously
quarrelsome atmosphere. People scold and insult one another for the most
trivial things, for passing too close, for taking the wrong side, for tying up
or floating loose. Most of these notice boards on the bank show a thoroughly
nasty spirit. People on the banks jeer at anyone in the
boats. You hear people quarrelling in boats, in the hotels, as they walk
along the towing path. There is remarkably little happy laughter here. The
RAGE, you see, is hostile to this place, the Rage breaks through. . . .
The people who drift from one pub to another, drinking, the people who fuddle in
the riverside hotels, are the last fugitives of pleasure, trying to forget the
rage ... "
Map
1895: Boulter's Lock, Sunday Afternoon, by E J Gregory -
Boulter's Lock, Sunday Afternoon, 1895 by E J Gregory
This might be a boating safety poster – so many things are about to go wrong –
bigtime!
If only E J Gregory had waited just a few more seconds …
Because within moments the scene would have been very different -
The lady cox of the skiff, bottom left, is paying more attention to her dog than to where she is going. Her left hand is no longer pulling the rudder string. The stern of her boat therefore moves to our right, sideswiping the skiff behind her. Smashing a scull and a rollock, and unhinging her rudder. The lady in the bows of that skiff with the umbrella, which prevents her cox from seeing where she is going, is, to be fair to her, actually keeping a lookout, but unfortunately on the wrong side. The dog attacks her umbrella.
The punter is working hard and not looking, and nobody is looking at him to give warning, so he smashes into the sculls of the six oared skiff which is colliding with the skiff with the dog, breaking two more sculls and rollocks.
This distracts the stroke oarsman in the six oared skiff and he pushes out on his
other scull which unfortunately is being held just inboard of the rollock by
the child. She traps her fingers between
scull and rollock and screams loudly, causing nanny to say something quite
emphatic.
His as yet undamaged scull hits the
skiff in which the bearded man is lolling, breaking its rollock and jumping out
and striking the child.
[The bearded man is said to be E J Gregory himself.]
The steam launch behind the punt sees
the punt hitting the two skiffs ahead of it and swerves to our left, running
down the keen female in the canoe, hidden under the bows.
As it swerves the steam launch forces
the boat to its left, holding on with a boat hook, into the boats waiting to go
up the lock.
As its bows swerve to our left, the stern of the steam launch moves out the other way. The young lady on the steam launch sitting so inelegantly, with her posterior outboard, receives a considerable shock when the man with the boathook attempts to fend off the stern of the launch, but contacts instead the stern of the young lady.
The launch further behind swerves the other way and smashes the canoe in front of it into the stone bank. The man standing in the bows is thrown into the water.
The bearded
man lolling in the skiff on the right is rightly worried by the course of the
skiff with the sail. At this point it
catches a puff of wind and smashes into his boat, snapping the mast and
throwing the man in the bows upside down on top of him.
He first hits him with the oar
and then falls on top of him
and then they are both smothered by canvas.
The man sitting astride behind the mast, raising the sail, is thrown onto
the splintered stump of the mast and suffers as only a man can.
The coachman on the bridge hears the cries from the river and looks to see what is happening, steering too far to his left and crushing the back wheel of the bicycle.
The lock keeper says “Oh ----!” and goes for a tea break.
As I say – Edward J Gregory might have been a good artist – but he lacked timing
- if only he had waited – what a picture that would have made! It took him seven years to complete
that painting - and he only missed by a few seconds!
1995: There was an attempt to recreate Gregory's picture.
Obviously a great deal of work went into it and the result was very worthwhile.
I print the photo and the original for comparison (though I have as yet a not very good version of the photo. CAN ANYONE SEND ME A BETTER VERSION?)
I think it succeeded admirably with the boats and costumes.
Bob Lowery is a specialist photographer who uses the very latest techniques to obtain great pictures for his clients
particularly stately homes and commercial sites.
He carried out all the photography for the re-enactment of Gregory’s famous picture at Boulters Lock in 1995.
(He does not have a copy.)
1995 recreation of Boulter's Lock, Sunday Afternoon, 1895 by E J Gregory
Boulter's Lock, Sunday Afternoon, 1895 by E J Gregory
'Boulters Lock, Sunday Afternoon' © David Wheldon (after seeing the above)
Boulter’s Lock, Sunday afternoon, Maidenhead;
I’ve never been there myself, and anyway am too late.
A hundred years ago, or more: all in the painting
are dead. The hurry, the crowdedness within
the damp lock’s walls and gates. Skiff, punt, canoe,
steam launch: all vying for the exit, down into
the broader waters of the Thames. Paintings
like this limn the lady-cox with her fingers
holding the tiller-tassels, while the male sculls
maintain her way. Maybe they got down to Bray.
1891: The Stream of Pleasure, Joseph and Elizabeth Robins Pennell -
But it was outside Boulters Lock, on the way back to Cookham, that we found the greatest crowd.
There was such a mass of boats one might have thought all -
The men who haunt the waters,
Broad of breast and brown of hue,
All of beauty's youngest daughters,
Perched in punt or crank canoe.
were waiting to pass through together. But presently the lock-keeper called out,
"Keep back! There are a lot of boats coming!"
And the lock gates slowly opened and out they came, pell-mell, pushing, paddling, poling,
steaming, and there was a great scrambling and bumping, and meeting of friends,
and cries of
"How are you?"
"Come to dinner at eight"
"Look out where you're going!"
and brandishing of boathooks, and glaring of eyes, and savage shoutings, and frantic handshakings,
and scrunching of boats, and scratching of paint, and somehow we all made our way into
the lock as best we could, the lock-keeper helping the slower boats with his long boathook and
fitting all in, until there was not space for one to capsize if it would.
But indeed in a crowded lock if you cannot manage your own boat some one else will manage it
for you; and for that matter, when there is no crowd you meet men whose only use of a boathook
is to dig it into your boat as you are quietly making your way out.
Both banks were lined with people looking on, for Boulter's Lock on Sunday afternoon is
one of the sights of the Thames.
1868: Below Boulter’s Lock, William Johnson Cory -
The aspen grows on the maiden’s bank,
Down swoops the breeze on the bough,
Quick rose the gust, and suddenly sank,
Like wrath on my sweetheart’s brow.
The tree is caught, the boat dread nought,
Sheltered and safe below;
The bank is high, and the wind runs by,
Giving us leave to row.
The bank was dipping lower and lower,
Showing the glowing west,
The oar went slower, for either rower
The river was heaving her breast.
That sunset seemed to my dauntless steerer
The lifting and breaking of day,
That flush on the wave to me was dearer
Than shade on a windless way.
1906: Boulter’s Lock, Ascot Sunday, Mortimer Menpes -
Boulter’s Lock, Ascot Sunday, Mortimer Menpes, 1906
1906: Below Boulter’s Lock, Mortimer Menpes -
Below Boulter’s Lock, Mortimer Menpes, 1906
Postcard: Below Boulter’s Lock -
Postcard, Below Boulter’s Lock
1913: Below Boulter’s Lock, Francis Frith -
1913, Below Boulter’s Lock, Francis Frith
[ I am worried by the predicament of the nearest punt.
What was she trying to do I ask? (93 years later!) She was a Cambridge punter
(she is standing on the deck or till) and maybe out on a much bigger river than her home waters.
(The Thames feels enormous for a punter used to the Cam and Granta).
I take it she had just come
down through the lock and was trying to turn to get up towards Boulter's Inn.
But that steam launch appears to be reversing at speed (those are waves under its stern aren't they?)
and a collision involving the punt and the skiff and the steam launch appears inevitable. ]
Boulters Lock, Clough W Bromley -
Boulters Lock, Clough W Bromley
Boulters Lock, R Allan -
Boulters Lock, R Allan
1726: Ray Flour Mill on the lock island
1790s: Boulters Mill, watercolour by Louis Belanger -
Boulters Mill, Louis Belanger, 1790s
Mill then became Boulter’s Inn (see below!).
Bar, bar food, restaurant with moorings.
As I sat in the bar having lunch
admiring the view downstream a lady commented to her husband what a dirty river
the Thames was. It does not seem dirty to me. Yes, the flow was at least double summer
levels and as a result there was mud in the river. Good clean honest mud.
But somehow "dirty" seems to imply
that there was some sewage content - and that is not the case as far as I
know.
On the four acre lock island are walks, an
ice cream and coffee stall and toilets.
The Environment agency has a slipway behind the hotel,
it is the site of the one time boat elevator.
Unfortunately it has no road access at all.
1913: The Boat Elevator, Francis Frith -
1913: The Boat Elevator, Francis Frith
2005: It now looks like this –
The Site of Boulter’s Elevator, 2005
1885: Dickens's Dictionary of the Thames carried an advertisement for the Ray Mead Hotel -
Ray Mead Hotel Advertisement, 1885
2004: Boulters Inn -
Boulter’s Inn 2004 - before the rebuild
2006: June - Boulter's Inn closed. The redevelopment of the downstream end of the island was described as -
Both a new build and refurbishment, Boulters Lock provides 10 spacious and sophisticated dwellings to include 2 and 3 bedroom apartments in Ray Mill Inn and 2 bedroom cottages and apartments in Boulters Cottages.
So after a year of thinking that that was the end of the restaurant I now discover it isn't! -
Boulter's Restaurant
is now fully open! Their website says:
Boulters Restaurant and Bar has been called the ‘Jewel of the Thames’ and with uninterrupted views downstream towards Maidenhead bridge
it is easy to appreciate why.
In late 2007 we were lucky enough to acquire this famous riverside icon and in June 2008 the refurbishment and restoration project began.
The best of modern British cuisine and professional service in our downstairs restaurant offers a traditional dining experience surrounded by river views.
The upstairs terrace bar brings back the family dining experience with rustic pub dishes cooked for one person or a whole family.
With stunning views overlooking Boulters Lock and the river, the terrace is a wonderful place to relax and enjoy great food and drink with family or friends.
The Jewel that has been missed by so many river users and the people of Maidenhead is once again sparkling.
We invite you to come and experience the changing seasonal flavours and colours of the new Boulters Restaurant and Bar.
...
When our pontoon refurbishment is complete we will be offering overnight mooring
making us the perfect weekend destination for river cruisers or boat clubs.
What better way to finish off a river boat party in style
than an evening of refined Maidenhead dining in this superb location?
2009 July:
We were honoured to welcome Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand and his guests. Having arrived by boat the Crown Prince dined with the Thai PM, Ambassador and their wives.
Boulters Restaurant 2009
Upstream to BOULTERS LOCK
Estuary
PLA
QEII Br
Barrier
Tower Br
Custom Ho
London Br
; Frost Fairs
Cannon St Rb
The Great Stink
Southwark Br
Millenium Br
Blackfriars Rb
Blackfriars Br
Waterloo Br
Charing Cross Rb
Westminster Br
Lambeth Br
Vauxhall Br
Victoria Rb
Chelsea Br
Albert Br
Battersea Br
Battersea Rb
Wandsworth Br
Fulham Rb
Putney Br
Hammersmith Br
Barnes Rb
Chiswick Br
Kew Rb
Kew Br
RICHMOND
Twickenham Br
Richmond Rb
Richmond Br
TEDDINGTON
Kingston Rb
Kingston Br
Ditton Slip
Hampton Br
MOLESEY
SUNBURY
Walton Br
Desborough Cut
SHEPPERTON
Chertsey Br
CHERTSEY
M3 Br
Laleham Slip
PENTON HOOK
Staines Rb
Staines Br
Runnymede Br
BELL WEIR
Magna Carta Is
OLD WINDSOR
Albert Br
Datchet
Victoria Br
Black Potts Rb
ROMNEY
Eton
Windsor Br
Windsor Rb
Windsor Slip
Elizabeth Br
BOVENEY
Dorney Lake
York Cut
Summerleaze Fb
MonkeyIsland
New Thames Br
BRAY
Bray Slip
Maidenhead Rb
Maidenhead Br
Below Boulters
BOULTERS
Cliveden
Hedsor
COOKHAM
Cookham Slip
Cookham Br
BourneEnd RFb
Quarry Woods
A404 Br
MARLOW
Marlow Br
Bisham
TEMPLE
HURLEY
Medmenham
Culham Ct
Aston Slip
HAMBLEDEN
Temple Is
Fawley Ct
Remenham
Regatta
Phyllis Ct
Henley Slip
Leander
Red Lion
Henley Br
Angel on Br
Landing
Hobbs Boatyard
Hobbs Slipway
MARSH
Hennerton
Bolney
Wargrave
Shiplake Rb
R.Loddon
SHIPLAKE
Sonning Br
SONNING
Dreadnought
K&A Canal
CAVERSHAM
Reading Br
Caversham Br
Reading Slip
Purley
MAPLEDURHAM
Hardwick Ho
Whitchurch Br
WHITCHURCH
Hartswood Reach
Gatehampton Rb
Goring Gap
Goring Br
GORING
Swan
CLEEVE
Moulsford
Moulsford Rb
Papist Way Slip
Winterbrook Br
Wallingford Br
BENSON
Shillingford Br
R.Thame
DAYS
Burcot
Clifton Hampden
Clifton Church
Clifton H Br
Barley Mow
Long Wittenham
CLIFTON
Appleford Rb
Sutton Courtenay
Sutton Br
CULHAM
Culham Cut Fb
Abingdon Slip
Abingdon
Abingdon Br
ABINGDON
Nuneham Rb
Nuneham
Nuneham Park
Radley Boats
SANDFORD
Rose Island
Kennington Rb
Isis Br
Iffley Mill
IFFLEY
Oxford Rowing
Isis
Donnington Br
Riverside Slip
Boathouses
Punting
Lower Cherwell
Upper Cherwell
Islip
Head of River
Salters Steamers
Folly Br
Bacons Folly
Oxford Fb
Osney Fb
Weir stream
Osney Rb
Bullstake Stream
Osney Marina
OSNEY
Osney Br
Four Rivers
OLD RIVER
CANAL
Medley Weir Site
Medley Fb
Bossoms
Perch
Trout
GODSTOW
Godstow Nunnery
Godstow Br
Thames Br
KINGS
River Evenlode
EYNSHAM
Swinford Br
Oxford Cruisers
PINKHILL
Farmoor
Stanton Harcourt
Bablock Slip
Arks Weir Site
NORTHMOOR
Harts Fb
//Rose Revived
Newbridge
//Maybush
River Windrush
below Shifford
SHIFFORD
Shifford Fb
Tenfoot Fb
Trout Inn
Tadpole Br
RUSHEY
Old Mans Fb
RADCOT
Radcot Cradle Fb
Swan Inn
Radcot New Br
Radcot Old Br
GRAFTON
Eaton Hastings
Kelmscott
Eaton Fb
BUSCOT
Bloomers Hole Fb
Trout Inn
St Johns Br
ST JOHNS
Halfpenny Br
Marina Slip
LIMIT
Inglesham
Hannington Br
Kempsford
Castle Eaton Br
Marston Meysey
A419 Br
Cricklade
SOURCE?
THAMES HEAD
SEVEN SPRINGS